


The Chosen

by taurenyavanna



Series: The Choices We Make [2]
Category: Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Anakin Skywalker Needs a Hug, Angst, Drama, Eventual Fluff, Family, Father-Son Relationship, Gen, I already said drama didn't I?, Mentions of death and grief, Minor Padmé Amidala/Anakin Skywalker, No Beta We Die Like Clones, OBI-WAN IS ANAKIN'S DAD AND I WILL DIE ON THIS HILL, Obi-Wan Kenobi Needs a Hug, Post-Rako Hardeen Arc (Star Wars: Clone Wars), Tooth-Rotting Fluff, they both get a hug, wrote this instead of sleeping
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-03
Updated: 2020-11-03
Packaged: 2021-03-08 17:48:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,265
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27360745
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/taurenyavanna/pseuds/taurenyavanna
Summary: A few weeks after the Rako Hardeen incident, Anakin still struggles to find in him the will to forgive his old master for his deception. Instead, he questions Obi-Wan's long years of devotion to him and doubts that his master ever truly cared or even loved him to subject him to this horrendous pain.However, Padmé refuses to let Anakin immerse himself into more fabricated lies and decided to share a little conversation she accidentally overheard between the Duchess of Mandalore and the Negotiator.(I guess this is the second installment of my one shot The Choice. This fic could stand on its own, but should you want to read the entirety of it feel free to checkhere
Relationships: Obi-Wan Kenobi & Anakin Skywalker
Series: The Choices We Make [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1998574
Comments: 18
Kudos: 191





	The Chosen

**Author's Note:**

> ME AGAIN!!! Another rough prompt in relation to my other fic 'The Choice' lol I tried
> 
> P.S. i may have rambled too much in this one and i hope i conveyed as much emotion as i initially intended. PLEASE LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK AND THANKS SO MUCH! ❤️

Sulking. It's all Anakin Skywalker could do all week. And today was nothing different. 

He sulked, when he was called to the council chambers as Masters Yoda and Mace tried to make him understand that this was all their doing.

He sulked, when Ahsoka almost basically pushed him towards Obi-Wan's quarters after lashing out at the older Jedi when Obi-Wan tried to talk to him at the Temple's refectory, and the numerous times before that.

He sulked, when Master Plo tried to coax him out of the Hangar in a petty attempt to hide from his former master. 

That's him, Anakin Skywalker, the Master of Sulking. 

How could he not, when faced with the inevitability of another death of a parent only to find it falsely fabricated? 

He was still angry. No matter how much he forced himself to meditate, the negative emotions have latched themselves to Anakin. Feelings of anger, of the searing pain that continually threatens to rip his mind in two upon nightmare after nightmare of himself having to carry his former master's lifeless body back to the temple echoed from his heart as he tried to grasp the fact that his old man was alive, and not the limp, cold body that fell that fateful night. 

Obi-Wan Kenobi was many things to Anakin Skywalker. But he thought of Obi-Wan as his family above all else. He was his brother: all too keen on pissing Anakin off and all the other sort a devious sibling would do. But he was also his father: the man who raised him, the man who cared for and protected him when everybody decided to abandon him, the one who stayed, the one who molded him into the man he is today.

But families weren't supposed to lie to one another. And yet Obi-Wan did that. 

Betrayed was the one word that could possibly sum up his emotions. Even then, it would still be only mildly putting it so.

He could not face his old master. At least not yet. Not when he doubts everything that has ever transpired between them. And so, as soon as the night cycle started, he ran to Padmé.

His angel would've been enough a recluse from all this ruckus. It always worked. The scent of her hair and her soft arms were usually more than enough to make Anakin feel better. And yet no matter how long he stayed in the arms of his beloved, his mind wandered back to the halls of the temple, where his not-so-dead-anymore master was probably catching up to the war efforts he had missed during his little excursion. 

"Did you and Obi-Wan talk?" Padmé suddenly asks, combing his hair with her petite fingers. Anakin sat up, Padmé's gaze trailing after him as he casts his eyes downwards, unsure of what to say. 

Padmé, of course, quickly caught on to the implication his silence offered. 

"Ani, you can't punish him forever."

Anakin sighed, avoiding the gaze of his wife as he focused his sight on the Coruscanti night sky instead. He wishes it was that easy to stop.... punishing Obi-Wan. He wishes that he could just punch him square in the jaw and pull him into a relieved embrace just exactly as Padmé had done the moment the two of them locked eyes. 

He wished it was that simple. 

It was unfortunate to say it wasn't. At this point, two weeks after the incident on Naboo, he was the only one denying Obi-Wan's return. Either if it was blatantly pretending he does not exist, or blatantly ignoring his pleas, or also blatantly expressing his animosity towards him. 

And every time he sees how Obi-Wan's eyes would fall upon Anakin's repetitive rejection of him, his heart shattered even more than it already had. He wasn't blind, he could see his old master was physically exhausted from all the stunts he had to pull during his undercover mission. But Obi-Wan has had worse before, and survived all of them with an irritating in itself grin regardless of the extent of the injury.

It was the emotional torment that is affecting his old master the most, or so does Master Yoda said. Anakin himself had inflicted so on him, just as Obi-Wan did mere weeks ago. But Anakin still couldn't find in himself to forgive his old man. 

"How long are you going to punish yourself?" Padmé repeated, reaching for his hands. "I can see that you're suffering as well, Ani. Why can't you let go? Obi-Wan's alive and he's reaching out to you. He clearly did not want to hurt you, Ani."

Anakin, stubborn as he is, scoffed and shook his head incredulously. He had doubted his stance in Obi-Wan's life for far too long. And his deception only reiterated the many issues Anakin had struggled ever since he arrived at the temple. He wasn't going to yield now. 

Because Obi-Wan's alleged death was like going through the grief he could only describe as pain akin to that of his mother's death. Anakin sighed, leaning his head against the wall as he forced his eyes closed. "He didn't trust me." He said, and Padmé would've missed it if she wasn't listening as intently as she was. It came out like a whisper, like a whimper, and for the first time, Anakin knew he was about to break down.

Sithspit. 

"Ani, I'm sure that's not --"

"He didn't love me enough to tell me, to think of how this would affect me." He cracked his eyes open and forced a smile on his face, but ultimately failed to do so as it turned out to be a grimace instead. "Or maybe he never loved me at all. Afterall, I was just..." He swallowed, avoiding Padmé's concerned gaze the best he could. "I was just an obligation to him." 

"Now, that's not fair." 

He turned to meet the stern gaze of his wife, suddenly full of determination. He was about to retort, he was about to impress the fact that Obi-Wan not including him on the inside and made him think that he was dead was well enough to know that what he was saying was right. 

But what came out of his wife's mouth wasn't what he expected. 

"You're underestimating your importance in Obi-Wan's life." She began, and thus came information that eventually will place Anakin to shame.

Apparently, though not intended, Padmé overheard the Duchess and Obi-Wan talking in the hangar when Satine was about to leave Coruscant for Mandalore. Padmé was about to bid goodbye to her old friend, only to be stopped upon seeing Obi-Wan with her. 

_It did not look like they were exchanging pleasantries, and as a negotiator herself much as Obi-Wan, she could see how the conversation was riling up the esteemed Jedi Master. She was about to leave, not wanting to invade a personal conversation when he heard his husband's name from Satine._

_"....Anakin probably has a life of his own now, a life that does not include you. H-He will understand. He's not a child anymore, Obi-Wan."_

_"But he is mine." Obi-Wan snapped. All Padmé could do was blink in surprise at Obi-Wan's loss of control over his emotions and Padmé needn't be a Jedi to see that. Obi-Wan Kenobi has always been her friend, although they may have had rough patches especially when Obi-Wan asked her to leave Anakin be, she knew him well enough to know that Satine must've hit a nerve._

_She watched as Obi-Wan regained his calm as soon as it disappeared. "He was my child, Satine. He still is, in all the ways but blood." He continued. "For thirteen years, my life revolved solely around that boy; not because of my master, but because I 've grown to love him as my own. I will never abandon him, nor could I for the matter. Not for the Order, not for anything in this galaxy. Not even for you, my dear."_

“H-He chose me?” It almost came out as a squeak, and Padmé’s smile confirmed it. 

He did not know what to say, his mind utterly blank save for how wrong he had been to assume Obi-Wan didn’t care. How wrong he was to disrespect all those years of hard work and devotion Obi-Wan poured on him. 

Padmé squeezed his hand, redirecting him once more to the situation at hand.

"You used to question why he did it. Aside from the obvious answer, I think he did it for you. You said Obi-Wan did not even like the chancellor. He could've just as easily as given the task to another master or knight, as he was aware of how you would react to the faking of his death. But he took it to himself to see the Chancellor's safety because he knew he was your friend."

Oh how Anakin kriffed this all up. "He did not like the Chancellor, but he loves you instead to take on the task for you. You're terribly underestimating your importance in Obi-Wan's life, Anakin." She repeated as she ended her story, reaching for Anakin's cold hands as waves of guilt and remorse filled Anakin's heart. 

"This does not absolve Obi-Wan's decisions, Ani, nothing will and I'm certain he knows of that. I was just rather hoping to give you a new light of him, or at least shed a clearer one for you to see." Padmé added, brushing Anakin's hair with her hand in an attempt to calm him. And for that Anakin was grateful, because tears started to escape his eyes at what just got revealed to him. 

She was right, this does not absolve the mistakes Obi-Wan made. But it did make everything easier for him. It made him realize that the last thing his old master probably intended was for him to get hurt. It made him easier to realize how much he had hurt Obi-Wan back. It made him realize that when Anakin should've just been glad that Obi-Wan was alive, Anakin made him feel that his return was unwanted,even frowned upon. It made him easier to see that he has been thinking too much of himself, and very little of the man who raised him. 

It horrified him to think that somehow, he was the one who turned his back to Obi-Wan when he needed him. 

How good a family he turned out to be to Obi-Wan if he had to make him suffer as much. 

Guilt coursing through his veins, he kissed Padmé in gratitude, bid her goodbye, and practically raced to the temple despite the raging storm occurring in Coruscant. 

He arrived at the temple soaked in water. Ignoring the inquisitive looks of the nocturnal Jedi, he sprinted to his master's quarters. 

He was about to knock, seeing as it would've been the polite thing to do rather than opening it himself. But just as he was about to do that, the door slid open to an unsuspecting Obi-Wan, who was still, of course, awake at this ungodly hour. Judging by the looks of it, he was probably going to the Room of a Thousand Fountains to meditate, just as he always did under more than normal stress. Anakin stopped, his hands midair between the two of them. 

Sithspit. Anakin flung his wet arms over Obi-Wan, almost completely knocking him down. It took mere seconds before Obi-Wan returned his embrace, confusion filling their pulsing bond. "Where have you been? You're all wet." He managed to say, ruffling Anakin's hair with his hand while the other rested on his back, seemingly not minding the embrace despite his rain soaked everything. Obi-Wan then 

"I'm sorry, mas'er." He slurred, his face being buried on the crook of Obi-Wan's arm. At that, Obi-Wan's hold over him tightened, rubbing soothing circles on his back, pushing his cheek against Anakin's drenched hair as a soft, wavering smile formed on his face. "You have nothing to be sorry for, dear one. On the contrary, it is I who owe you more than an apology." 

Anakin pulled back, for the first time seeing a real smile gracing Obi-Wan's lips since he returned. "That's too much apology, master. That's not good for your image." He forced a grin, trying to at least make the air around them lighter. Glad to say it worked.

A chuckle, "Not that I care for it as much as you do, but alright." Obi-Wan turned to his door, palming it close. He walked past Anakin to fetch the younger Jedi a towel then wrapped it loosely around Anakin's back. "Care for tea? I'm assuming we have a long night ahead of us." He offered, already preparing tea as if bracing the both of them for the seemingly long, overdued conversation they were about to have.

Anakin smiled, as if a heavy burden was lifted from his shoulders upon finally accepting Obi-Wan back, just as well as seeing the comforting smile his master reserved for him. Taking a seat in his usual spot, he flashed Obi-Wan a grateful smile, "Yeah, thanks, Master."

The nightmares would not easily let go of him. The pain he felt when he moved Obi-Wan’s limp body that night will never cease to exist at the corner of his mind, his fear of losing Obi-Wan only exacerbated. He was not going to deny any of that. 

But Obi-Wan is here beside him, alive and about to be subjected to a long and angry lecture (albeit a kind one, as Anakin guaranteed to Padmé) from Anakin himself. And that matters more than anything in the galaxy. 

**Author's Note:**

> If it isn't too much to ask, please do leave me feedbacks via the comment section :(


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